IAICa is literally one of my favorite carrie songs ever!! But in truth, I imagine she went in and sat down with some writters and probably just told them some thngs about her and her town and upbringing. I doubt she did much more than that. Yet I love that song.

The ones that I "feel" she had a real hand in were "Thers a Place.." "SYA" "TH" & TBC.
Among those my favorite is SYA, but TH was a real breakthough for me in feeling like she is legitimately participating in the writing process.

And finally, I think TBC (though not one of my favorite carrie songs by a long shot) is probably my most impressive pic.
I say that because it felt very authentic the way she talked about having this image of two black cadillacs and sitting down to woodshed what the story would be behind that image and concept of two black caddillacs and the story ended up being born.

That one testimony alone tells me that Carrie is now very much a part of the process, and actually and some very intersting stories and ideas in her head that go way beyond the typical female song of "the boy down the road who thinks I'm cute".

TBC is probably my pick as a favorite cowrite.
IAICA is jsut plain a favorite.

My favorites are undeniably Two Black Cadillacs and What Can I Say? They're just flawless, to be honest.

Following those two are All-American Girl, Good in Goodbye and Wine After Whiskey for me. I agree that she's becoming more a part of the process and she's clearly becoming more comfortable as a songwriter so really, her best is yet to come, I'm sure.

1. Two Black Cadillacs
2. So Small
3. Wine After Whiskey
4.Good In Goodbye
5. Good Girl
6. What Can I Say

I tend to rank songs based on overall quality, but a lot of Carrie's early cowrites are just 'there' for me. I do love that she's always included songs that are personal to her; her emotional investment is really sweet to see. However, I tend to prefer her best songs; it's neat to see the different reasons why people gravitate towards some songs and not others.

What I love about the BA era, in particular, is that Carrie's cowrites had more meat and personality to them than the ones included on previous albums. IMO, Carrie really established herself as a writer on this album, and her involvement in writing and jotting down ideas and sharing her thoughts was great. Although I appreciate that many of these songs are personal to Carrie, I tend to gravitate towards songs that have the quality to withstand time and singles down the line, which is why I voted the way I did.

IAICa is literally one of my favorite carrie songs ever!! But in truth, I imagine she went in and sat down with some writters and probably just told them some thngs about her and her town and upbringing. I doubt she did much more than that. Yet I love that song.

I'm not so sure.

Angelo Petraglia also sat down with Taylor Swift on her debut album, and this was the result

Stylistically, they're totally different. I think co-writers don't just provide stock songs - they shape and evolve the music around the ideas the lead artist wants.
IAICA does contain lyrical references to Carrie's early and evolving life, with contrasts - but equally, or more, importantly, it partially contains one of the most interesting and characteristically "down home" musical arrangements, and I think that reflects how Carrie saw her music evolving - from fairs and small shows to big time studio production. IAICA begins with a musical statement of nostalgia, and you can hear the dreamy yearning in the first 40 seconds, morphing to the driving beat typical of live Country shows. Around 1.20 this is overlaid by a more polished studio sound, but the more organic Country beat reasserts itself in several passages, and the later part of the score suggests to me a tension between the two musical styles.

It's a clever piece of writing - but it also suggests to me a definite element of personal input. I'm not suggesting that Carrie came in with the score written. But if she'd wanted a Swifty Pop leaning song, she could have had one. I think the personalized feel of the score suggests she came in with ideas for the music she wanted, and Petraglia and the other co-writer, Trey Bruce, put themes to her that reflected what she was saying until she got an arrangement that fitted her ideas. That's how co-writing often works.

1. Two Black Cadillacs
2. So Small3. Wine After Whiskey
4.Good In Goodbye
5. Good Girl
6. What Can I Say

I tend to rank songs based on overall quality, but a lot of Carrie's early cowrites are just 'there' for me. I do love that she's always included songs that are personal to her; her emotional investment is really sweet to see. However, I tend to prefer her best songs; it's neat to see the different reasons why people gravitate towards some songs and not others.

What I love about the BA era, in particular, is that Carrie's cowrites had more meat and personality to them than the ones included on previous albums. IMO, Carrie really established herself as a writer on this album, and her involvement in writing and jotting down ideas and sharing her thoughts was great. Although I appreciate that many of these songs are personal to Carrie, I tend to gravitate towards songs that have the quality to withstand time and singles down the line, which is why I voted the way I did.

If only Carrie remembered she wrote those songs... on the BLOWN AWAY album. lmao. remember when she thought Good In Goodbye was from Some Hearts? Given how little she sings off BA (compared to PO), I almost think she forgot she had NEW songs on her album called BLOWN AWAY. Ya know, her most current one? lol.

Carrie's most proud of BA -> never sings from it (besides singles- even SYA got shafted from her programs. x))

If only Carrie remembered she wrote those songs... on the BLOWN AWAY album. lmao. remember when she thought Good In Goodbye was from Some Hearts? Given how little she sings off BA (compared to PO), I almost think she forgot she had NEW songs on her album called BLOWN AWAY. Ya know, her most current one? lol.

Carrie's most proud of BA -> never sings from it (besides singles- even SYA got shafted from her programs. x))

Right? It's seriously mind-boggling to me that Carrie sings PO songs more than any other singles (and even pulls out album tracks once awhile), but she pulled out SYA and rarely sings BA songs, even during Opry appearances. Odd. And the non-singles she does perform are the worst ones, go figure.

I suppose the cold shoulder toward WAW could be because it was written for the PO era, and she just wants to move on from it. I'm not sure what her reasoning for neglecting GIG would be, though. I think it's one of her best cowrites and most underrated songs, period. The vocal, the emotion, everything is just perfect.

It also continues to confuse me that Artista appears to want to establish Carrie as a songwriter, yet they release her weakest songs that don't really show off her talent as a writer (aside from TBC, of course). It's just frustrating that Carrie hasn't released her best songs, rarely performs the best ones, and generally favors PO over BA. Considering the drastic increase in quality from the former to the latter, I just don't get it.

Some Hearts: I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore - I've always loved this one. It's so catchy and I love that it is personal subject matter.

Carnival Ride:All American Girl, So Small, Crazy Dreams, Last Name, - My favorite of these is So Small. I've always loved it. AAG, I know, is probably the most popular co-write from this album and it is catchy, but nothing compares to So Small on this album.

Play On: Cowboy Casanova, Mama Song, Undo It, Temporary Home, Unapologize, What Can I Say, Play On, - CC, UI, TH, and WCIS are my favorites of this bunch, with TH easily coming out in the lead. I love the story elements, the melody, and we know that Carrie mostly came up with the three stories on her own based on the Purpose Driven Life book that she was reading with Mike. I feel like Unapologize and PO were just filler and while I like Unapologize, I feel it was too pop (kind of like Twisted from CR) for a Carrie CD and didn't add anything. PO was a nice song to end the CD and I might call it "necessary" filler, but I am certainly glad it was never considered for a single.
Blown Away: Good Girl, Two Black Cadillacs, See You Again, Nobody Ever Told You, One Way Ticket, Good In Goodbye, Cupids Got A Shotgun, Wine After Whisky, - Oh, so many good ones on this CD!!!! It really shows Carrie's amazing growth as a writer. TBC and WAW are easily my favorites, because they are also two of my favorite Carrie songs ever. I loved GG from the moment I heard it, SYA has definitely grown on me, OWT and CGAS are just pure fun, and GIG is a good relationship/past love song although I don't think that it was ever strong enough to be a country single (kind of like how I loved YWFT from CR, but it was not single material in my mind). The only song that I wouldn't have even included on the CD was NETY. I just don't like the subject matter and I think it's cheesy, although it is catchy enough that I do sing along and don't skip it. If they had left NETY and WAY off of the BA cd, I think it would have been pure perfection.

Chronicles of Narnia: There’s a Place for Us - I just love this song. I think they picked the right song for the movie and I am glad SYA was saved for BA, but I really wish we could here Distant Lullaby. Based on what she had said about those songs way back when, I think it was the more "folksy" song since TAPFU and SYA are clearly not folksy.

ALL AMERICAN GIRL- Because it always puts a big smile on my face
OKLAHOMA WIND- it may sound silly but I feel this song is a secret that we obsessed Carrie fans share together.. I do believe someday Carrie will change her mind and release this song for her fans..
I AINT IN CHOCOTAH ANYMORE-Because it was the first..

Right? It's seriously mind-boggling to me that Carrie sings PO songs more than any other singles (and even pulls out album tracks once awhile), but she pulled out SYA and rarely sings BA songs, even during Opry appearances. Odd. And the non-singles she does perform are the worst ones, go figure.

I suppose the cold shoulder toward WAW could be because it was written for the PO era, and she just wants to move on from it. I'm not sure what her reasoning for neglecting GIG would be, though. I think it's one of her best cowrites and most underrated songs, period. The vocal, the emotion, everything is just perfect.

It also continues to confuse me that Artista appears to want to establish Carrie as a songwriter, yet they release her weakest songs that don't really show off her talent as a writer (aside from TBC, of course). It's just frustrating that Carrie hasn't released her best songs, rarely performs the best ones, and generally favors PO over BA. Considering the drastic increase in quality from the former to the latter, I just don't get it.

This.

Maybe Carrie just doesn't have as personal connection to BA songs as she does TH-PO? For instance, she talks so much about TH- the backstory and how much it touches her. But she hardly talked much in particular about her songs on BA...

GIG is drop dead. beautiful. Her phrasing. Enunciation. VOCALS. The way she uses her vocals there is SO unlike how she normally sings. Sad that she doesn't seem to care for it at all. The fact that she thinks it's from the Some Hearts era... ... it makes me wonder which album she thinks Do You Think About Me, Forever Changed, or Wine After Whiskey are from. lol

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